The present invention relates generally to a retail system, and more particularly to a retail system for allowing a customer to perform a retail transaction and associated method.
In the retail industry, the largest expenditures are typically the cost of the goods sold followed closely by the cost of labor expended. With particular regard to the retail grocery or supermarket industry, the impetus to reduce labor costs has focused on reducing or eliminating the amount of time required to handle and/or process the items or goods to be purchased by a customer. To this end, there have been a number of self-service checkout concepts developed which attempt to substantially eliminate the need for a checkout clerk.
One such self-service checkout concept is a xe2x80x9cscan-in-the-aislexe2x80x9d retail system in which the customer scans or otherwise itemizes his or her items for purchase in the shopping area of the retailer""s store. What is meant herein by the term xe2x80x9ccustomerxe2x80x9d is a person who enters the retailer""s store, selects his or her items for purchase from the shopping area of the store, checks out his or items for purchase, tenders payment for his or her items for purchase, and then exits the store subsequent to tendering payment. Hence, as used herein, a customer is distinguished from a retail checkout clerk or other employee of the retailer in that a customer enters the retailer""s store for the sole purpose of purchasing items from the store.
Hence, in particular regard to operation of a scan-in-the-aisle retail system, the customer scans individual items for purchase with a portable, hand-held scanner device in the shopping area of the retailer""s store as the customer selects such items for purchase from a shelf or the like. For example, the customer may scan each of his or her items for purchase with the hand-held scanner device as the customer places each item into his or her shopping cart or shopping hand basket. A memory device associated with the hand-held scanner device maintains a list which includes each of the items scanned by the customer. Once the customer has selected all of his or her items for purchase (and hence has scanned all of the same with the hand-held scanner device), the customer proceeds to the checkout area of the retailer""s store where the customer places the hand-held scanner device into a data downloading interface in which the list of scanned items is downloaded from the memory device of the hand-held scanner device to a retail checkout terminal which is operated by a retail clerk employed by the retailer. The downloaded information is then utilized to tally the customer""s transaction such that the customer may tender payment for his or her items for purchase and thereafter exit the retailer""s store.
Another type of self-service checkout concept is a retail terminal known as a self-service checkout terminal. A self-service checkout terminal is a system which is located in the checkout area of the retailer""s store and is operated by a customer without the aid of a checkout clerk. In operation of a self-service checkout terminal, the customer scans individual items for purchase across a scanner and then places the scanned items into a grocery bag, if desired. The customer then pays for his or her purchases either at the self-service checkout terminal if so equipped, or at a central payment area which is staffed by a store employee. Thus, a self-service checkout terminal permits a customer to select, itemize, and in some cases pay for his or her purchases without the assistance of the retailer""s personnel.
A customer typically has little or no training in the operation of a scan-in-the-aisle retail system or a self-service checkout terminal prior to his or her initial use thereof. Hence, one concern that retailers have when evaluating a self-service checkout concept is the level of supervision provided to inexperienced customers. Moreover, it is also known that some customers may have improper intentions when using a scan-in-the-aisle retail system or a self-service checkout terminal. In traditional checkout systems, the clerk employed by the retailer to operate the assisted checkout terminal provides a level of security against theft or other improprieties. However, in the case of either a scan-in-the-aisle retail system or a self-service checkout terminal, the system or terminal, respectively, itself must provide the necessary security.
Hence, a number of security measures have been implemented in regard to operation of a scan-in-the-aisle retail system. For example, a customer generally must initially register with the retailer prior to his or her first use of the scan-in-the-aisle retail system. Thereafter, for a predetermined number of visits to the retailer""s store, each of the new customer""s transactions will be subjected to audit. In particular, prior to exiting the store, the customer must take his or her items to an assisted checkout terminal (i.e. a retail checkout terminal operated by a retail clerk employed by the retailer) so that a retail clerk may remove each of the customer""s items for purchase from the grocery bags (if the customer has already bagged the items), and thereafter scan or otherwise enter each of the customer""s items in order to confirm the accuracy of the customer""s transaction. Such an audit procedure may be conducted for a predetermined number of visits after the customer initially registers with the retailer. For example, the first three times the new customer operates the scan-in-the-aisle retail system, the customer may be subjected to an audit. Moreover, after the initial number of audits (e.g. the first three uses of the scan-in-the-aisle retail system), the customer may be subjected to an audit on a random basis. For example, the customer may have a one-in-seven chance of randomly being selected for an audit in which the retail clerk confirms the accuracy of the customer""s transaction.
Such audits are occasionally viewed as intrusive by the customer. In particular, it is known that some customers may feel as if they are not xe2x80x9ctrustedxe2x80x9d by the retailer since the retailer may elect to have a store employee (e.g. a retail clerk) audit the customer""s transaction.
Another drawback associated with scan-in-the-aisle retail systems which have heretofore been designed is the hand-held scanner device which is provided for use by the customer. Such heretofore designed hand-held scanner devices are generally large and bulky thereby rendering the scanner relatively inconvenient for use by the customer. Moreover, such heretofore designed hand-held scanner devices are typically expensive thereby undesirably increasing cost associated with implementing a scan-in-the-aisle retail system by a retailer.
What is needed therefore is a self-service checkout concept which overcomes one or more of the above-mentioned drawbacks. What is particularly needed is a scan-in-the-aisle retail system which allows the customer to complete a transaction himself or herself without the assistance of retail personnel even if an audit of his or her transaction is equired. Moreover what is further needed is a hand-held scanner device for use in a scan-in-the-aisle retail system which is less mechanically complex, less expensive to manufacture, convenient to use, and smaller in size relative to hand-held scanner devices which have heretofore been designed.
In accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method of operating a retail system so as to allow a customer to perform a retail transaction. The retail system has a hand-held scanner device and a self-service checkout terminal. The method includes the step of storing a first number of records corresponding to a number of items in a scanner memory device of the hand-held scanner device when the customer scans the number of items with the hand-held scanner device. The method also includes the step of transferring the first number of records from the scanner memory device to a terminal memory device of the self-service checkout terminal and generating a transfer-complete control signal in response thereto. The method further includes the step of determining if the retail transaction of the customer is to be audited in response to generation of the transfer-complete control signal and generating an audit-required control signal in response thereto. Moreover, the method includes the step of operating the self-service checkout terminal so as to allow the customer to enter the number of items into the self-service checkout terminal in response to generation of the audit-required control signal.
In accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a retail system for allowing a customer to perform a retail transaction. The retail system includes a hand-held scanner device having a scanner memory device associated therewith. The hand-held scanner is configured to store a first number of records corresponding to a number of items in the scanner memory device when the customer scans the number of items with the hand-held scanner device. The retail system also includes a self-service checkout terminal having (i) a docking receptacle for docking the hand-held scanner device, (ii) a processing unit electrically coupled to the scanner memory device when the hand-held scanner device is positioned in the docking receptacle, and (iii) a terminal memory device electrically coupled to the processing unit. The terminal memory device has stored therein a plurality of instructions which, when executed by the processing unit, causes the processing unit to (a) transfer the first number of records from the scanner memory device to the terminal memory device and generate a transfer-complete control signal in response thereto, (b) determine if the retail transaction of the customer is to be audited in response to generation of the transfer-complete control signal and generate an audit-required control signal in response thereto, and (c) operate the self-service checkout terminal so as to allow the customer to enter the number of items into the self-service checkout terminal in response to generation of the audit-required control signal.
In accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method of operating a retail system so as to allow a customer to perform a retail transaction. The retail system has a hand-held scanner device and a self-service checkout terminal. The method includes the step of storing a first number of records corresponding to a number of items in a scanner memory device of the hand-held scanner device when the customer scans the number of items with the hand-held scanner device. The method also includes the step of transferring the first number of records from the scanner memory device to a terminal memory device of the self-service checkout terminal and generating a transfer-complete control signal in response thereto. Moreover, the method includes the step of determining if the retail transaction of the customer is to be audited in response to generation of the transfer-complete control signal and generating an audit-required control signal in response thereto. Yet further, the method includes the step of operating the self-service checkout terminal so as to allow the customer to enter the number of items into the self-service checkout terminal in response to generation of the audit-required control signal. In addition, the method includes the step of storing a second number of records corresponding to the number of items in the terminal memory device of the self-service checkout terminal when the customer enters the number of items into the self-service checkout terminal. The method also includes the step of generating an audit-passed control signal if the second number of records matches the first number of records.
In accordance with a fourth embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method of operating a retail system so as to allow a customer to perform a retail transaction. The retail system has a hand-held scanner device and a self-service checkout terminal, The method includes the step of operating the hand-held scanner device so as to allow the customer to enter a number of items into the hand-held-scanner device. The method also includes the step of determining if the retail transaction of the customer is to be audited and generating an audit-required control signal in response thereto. Moreover, the method includes the step of operating the self-service checkout terminal so as to allow the customer to enter the number of items into the self-service checkout terminal in response to generation of the audit-required control signal.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and useful retail system.
It is moreover an object of the present invention to provide an improved retail system.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new and useful method of operating a retail system.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide an improved method of operating a retail system.
The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and the attached drawings.